


The Best Of Times

by ebbj9891



Series: In Quest Of Something [49]
Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-04
Updated: 2014-11-04
Packaged: 2018-02-24 02:26:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2564912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebbj9891/pseuds/ebbj9891
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Justin has an important surprise for Brian that's been a long time coming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Best Of Times

_Tonight's going to be a great night,_ Justin promises himself happily. He's made perfect plans for a perfect evening, his surprise for Brian is - at long last - all ready to go, and he can now hear Brian's keys turning in the lock. He's so excited that his heart actually skips a beat when Brian walks through the door. As he greets Justin with a big smile, Justin feels his face tingeing pink. He can barely contain his enthusiasm. He's been waiting for this night forever and now that it has finally arrived, he's so thrilled he can hardly keep still.

"Sorry I'm late," Brian says, swooping in for a quick kiss. "Conference call ran over time. Cynthia said you made reservations, where are we going?"

"Giorgione, in about half an hour. I thought it would be nice to celebrate."

Brian shrugs off his coat and sets down his briefcase. "What are we celebrating?"

Although he's quite enjoying his partner's naïveté, Justin simply can't wait another second. He has to reveal all. He grins at Brian and gestures to the couch. "Sit down."

Brian smiles and settles comfortably on the couch, gazing at Justin curiously.

"I have something for you," Justin says shyly. Try as he might, he can't get rid of the butterflies that have taken up residence in his stomach. He attempts to take a calming breath, but his overwhelming sense of giddiness persists.

"Really?" Brian purrs, licking his lips, spreading his legs, and reclining languidly against the couch cushions.

"Not that!" Justin laughs as Brian arches an eyebrow at him disbelievingly. "Okay, yes,  _that..._ but later. There's something else first."

He retrieves the envelope that he's been hiding in his back pocket and offers it to Brian. "Open it."

"Thanks for the hot tip," Brian drawls, snickering as he takes the envelope and turns it over in his hands. "I've never encountered one of these strange contraptions before."

"Brian," Justin pleads softly, needing him to take this seriously. "This is a big deal."

The mischief fades from Brian's expression. He frowns at Justin slightly, then quickly tears open the envelope. Justin wraps his arms around himself and watches intently as Brian pulls out the card. After admiring the illustration on the front with a smile, he flips it open, clears his throat and reads aloud, "Dear Brian, where..."

Brian pauses briefly, glances at Justin, then resumes reading in a softer tone. "Where would I be without you? Love always, Justin."

"Turn it over," Justin urges, gnawing on his bottom lip as Brian follows his instructions. His breath catches as Brian finds the cheque pinned to the back of the card. 

Brian pulls it off, unfolds it, and stares at it. Justin watches his eyes go wide and feels a mild thrill. He ceases gnawing on his lip and explains gently, "I've been saving up since my first solo. The last show did really, really well... I finally got all the money together. I triple-checked it with Ted, by the way. It's all there. My tuition, plus every cent of the interest owed right up until today."

Several moments of pure silence follow, throughout which Brian looks utterly stunned. Justin feels quite pleased with himself; it takes a lot to stun Brian Kinney into speechlessness, and he's probably just set the world record for it. The evening is getting better and better by the moment.

"You didn't have to do this," Brian murmurs, his eyes still glued to the cheque. "We're practically married, I mean-"

"You stuck to our deal unconditionally," Justin interjects firmly, dropping into Brian's lap. He kisses his cheek and reminds Brian, "You stuck by it even at the worst of times. You have no idea how much that meant to me."

A sly smirk forms on Brian's face. "Yes, well, I knew that glorified hobo you had shacked up with couldn't provide for you."

"He certainly couldn't," Justin laughs, meaning it in more ways than one. Feeling a sweeping sense of fondness for Brian, he snuggles in closer. "Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

He follows each thanks with kisses pressed softly and sweetly to Brian's mouth. "I really don't know where I would be without you. Your support, your generosity... it means the world to me. More, even. I love you."

Brian smiles, refolds the cheque, and slips it into his breast pocket. He touches Justin's chin and kisses him gently. Justin is beginning to really melt into it when Brian abruptly stops, picks Justin up, and deposits him on the other side of the couch. Then he stands up and announces, whilst dusting off his hands, "Well, I got what I wanted. I'm out."

"Asshole!" Justin admonishes, laughing and tugging Brian back onto the couch. He straddles him and pins him down. "You're not going anywhere. You're stuck with me."

"Mmm," Brian moans into Justin's mouth as they resume kissing. Justin slips his hand down Brian's shirtfront and starts unbuttoning it. He brushes his fingers over the exposed flesh, all warm and soft, and is overcome with a desire to explore it with kisses. As he lowers his head and brushes his mouth over Brian's chest, Brian groans quietly and insists, "Wait."

Justin looks up at him incredulously. "Wait?"

"You never asked me how my day was," Brian says, grinning with a sharp edge of smugness.

Intrigued, Justin smiles and asks sweetly, "How was your day, _darling?"_  

"Fantastic," gloats Brian, grinning. "You know the Collins account?"

"I know the Collins account," Justin confirms. "What about it?"

He's most intrigued. Brian looks unprecedentedly pleased with himself. In fact, he's practically _glowing_ as he announces, "It turns out that our campaign has been a massive fucking success for them. They not only renewed their contract; they signed on with us for the next _five years."_  


"Bri, that's amazing!" Throwing his arms around his awe-inspiring partner, Justin gushes, "Congratulations!"

He chases the hug by cupping Brian's face in his hands and kissing him eagerly. With their mouths crushed together, there's no missing Brian's lips twisting into a smirk. Sensing there's more boasting on the way, Justin pulls back from the kiss. Looking utterly ecstatic, Brian announces, "And since their CEO adores me-"

"-who wouldn't?"

"-he offered us the use of his lakehouse for a while. Feel like a vacation anytime soon?"

Justin laughs, delighted at the idea and amused that Brian would even bother to ask. "Of course! When? Where?"

"I was thinking June, maybe for a month or so?"

"Let me check my schedule." Justin pauses for a millisecond then beams at Brian and says, "It's clear. I'm all yours. Where is this place?"

The self-satisfied smirk on Brian's face grows tenfold. He slides his hands up Justin's thighs, quirks a brow, and supplies in a seductive tone, "Lake Como."

This time, Justin's heart very nearly stops beating altogether. Now he's the one stunned speechless, which Brian seems to be enjoying immensely. He manages to compose himself quickly enough in order to ask, somewhat breathlessly, "You want to go to Italy with me?"

"I want to go everywhere with you," Brian says, nuzzling his nose against Justin's. "In fact, I think that's what we should put the money towards."

"That's a rather generous budget for one trip," Justin laughs.

"It is," Brian agrees, bringing his hands to rest tenderly at the nape of Justin's neck. "So why don't we take a chunk for this holiday and then set aside the rest for future trips? There are lots of places we should go together."

Whilst caressing Brian's breast pocket, where the cheque is still safely tucked away, Justin asks, "Are you sure? It's your money, after all."

"It's our money," Brian says candidly, eyeing Justin with transparent affection. "So let's enjoy it together."

Justin smiles so big that his cheeks begin to hurt a fraction. "Okay."

They share another kiss, but Brian ends it hastily and says, "We should get going if we're going to make it to dinner."

"Yeah." Justin jumps out of Brian's lap and goes to fetch their coats. He watches Brian remove the cheque from his pocket; he looks at it again with admiration and then carefully stows it in his briefcase. After Justin slips into his coat, he approaches Brian and hands him his. "Hey."

Brian smiles as he takes the coat and tugs it on. "Hey."

"Thank you," Justin says, again, so quietly he's almost whispering. He wraps Brian up in another hug and murmurs, "Thank you for everything."

"You could have done it without me," Brian whispers in his ear, his hand gliding up and down Justin's back. "I was the bank, sure, but you're the talent."

"But who knows what kind of talent I'd be without you?" Justin eases back and gazes adoringly at Brian, affection spinning dizzily through him as Brian smiles back at him. "You changed my life for the better. You looked after me, you supported me, you... you kept on doing that, for better or for worse. And I'm just so glad that we got through that, because now we're here and I honestly think that this is the best it's ever been."

"It is," Brian agrees, leaning in for another kiss. "So far, at least."

Justin slides his hands into Brian's hair and strokes it gently. He parts from the kiss slightly - although he remains very close - and adds, "Oh, and it would be remiss of me if I didn't mention that you inspired me. You still do, all the time."

Brian's smile grows into a huge grin. Justin feels himself matching it. Even though there's so much more he could say, Justin settles for saying the rest of it with a kiss. 

**The End**


End file.
